Pablo Araujo finds his way back to tennis as a coach, competitor in Columbia

Pablo Araujo comes to the tennis court every day with a broad background.

He got his undergraduate degree in graphic design and marketing, and then he did graduate school studies in nonprofit management. After graduating from Columbia College in Columbia, Mo., he went to work for a couple of different nonprofits.

Araujo and his wife later decided to start a business running a hair salon. That was 15 years ago. And while she still works in the salon on a daily basis, he said he does “the boring stuff that’s mostly managerial.” He also teaches tennis at a Columbia-area country club.

When asked to describe himself in one phrase, Araujo said, “I’m a tennis coach.”

From Bolivia to Missouri

Araujo was born in the United States to Bolivian immigrants. His family quickly moved back to La Paz, Bolivia, where he spent most of the first 11 years of his life. The family then moved to Mexico City. Tennis was a big part of Araujo’s life, though he never gave much thought to playing professional tennis.

“I thought about maybe playing tennis for a university, but I never really followed up with that,” he said.

He moved to the U.S. to attend Western Illinois University in Macomb. He stayed with friends of his parents to help make the adjustment before moving on campus. After two years, he moved to Columbia where his sister was studying journalism.

“She put Columbia on the map for my family,” he said. “I followed her here, and then she left me here. And here I am, 22 years later.”

With his studies in the nonprofit world, Araujo went to work for Rainbow House, a shelter that worked with neglected and abused children. He worked there for several years during college and part of grad school. Then Araujo worked at True North, an advocacy center for women who experienced sexual violence.

Partly because of finances — the nonprofit world doesn’t always pay particularly well — he and his wife started the salon. Once that business stabilized and he could focus on behind-the-scenes work, Araujo’s schedule allowed him to get back into tennis.

“I realized that I really enjoyed tennis,” he said. “Teaching is different than just playing tennis. I had a good teacher during my college years, Jaime Vargas. He was instrumental in my teaching education. He definitely took me under his wing and taught me most of the things I still teach today.”

Besides teaching and giving private lessons, Araujo loves talking about tennis and passing along his love for the game.

“I like talking to people about tennis and seeing how much they can improve or how much they can stay involved to keep playing,” he said. “You’re playing something that’s gonna follow you the rest of your life. That’s my biggest motivator.”

Staying in the Game

Although Araujo’s 40th birthday is in the rearview mirror, he’s still playing at a very high level. He hasn’t been able to play as much as he’d like this year, though he competes at a 5.0 level when he does, including in USTA Missouri Valley adult tournaments.

“I could say I’m getting older, so I’m not as fast or powerful,” he joked. “But I did get to play at a pretty high level. I played in international tournaments. Even though it was never really my goal to go pro or anything like that, or even play in college, I could have done it. It was not really something I needed to do.

“Sometimes I get stopped, playing young people, and that’s rough. That hurts a lot. My body feels it the next day, that’s for sure.”

It’s obvious Araujo would rather coach young people than play against them.

“I actually enjoy coaching the most,” he said. “That’s why I keep doing it, and I can see myself doing it the rest of my life. It might be in different capacities, but I’ll always be involved.”

In addition to coaching tennis and competing, Araujo volunteers as a director at large on the USTA Missouri board.

“I did go through a time where tennis was not really a big part of my life, because I was busy working and building a family and a business,” Araujo said. “I played so much tennis growing up that I just overloaded and decided that I was done with it.

“But then, later in life, I realized that it was still a gift.”

Check out additional feature stories for National Hispanic Heritage Month from across USTA Missouri Valley by clicking here.